Skelp welding unit with rolls



:13, 194 5. L ANDERSQN 2,371,209

SKELB WELDING UNIT WITH ROLLS Fil ed Sept. 17, 1940 -4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR J. L. ANDERSON SKELP WELDING UNIT WITH ROLLS March 13, 1945. 2,371,209

Filed Sept. 17, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 [0 1a 9, BY AHTNENTOR ATTORNEY J. L-. ANDERSON SKiBLP WELDING mum WITH RoLLs Filed Sept. 17. 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 J INVETOR March-13, 1945. J. 1.. AKNDERISON 2,371,209

SKELP wgumm "uun' WITH Roms Filed Sept. 17; 1940 I 4 sheets-ism 4 improved welding methane ml whitih skelp is "formed-and the edges" of the shel s areheated locally. to a welding-temperature by heating jets "projected against:thecedgeifaces during the time thatthe'skelp' is beingjforined by passag'ethrough successive roll passes.

in position to contact with the tube blank at. subblank,,. and defining apass through which the tubekblanktravels. A roll"standincludes the setarid the supporting. means-for the ram of the fsetJfiDiffefent. stands. eanibe, and in the case of welding heavier stock thanthatrused for welded pipesan-d :tubes of .theprio'r art.

straight in the. rolls, to the protection of the torch mechanism that v automatically. looks when the rolls reach closed position.

improved forming .and/or guiding; means. for; a. tube blank. It is1common practicetoemploy rolls with recessediaces for forming or-confining a Patented Mar. 13, 1945 PATEN T 1 o FFlC-E I FS'KELPWELDING UNIT wrr n ROLLS James L. Anderson, Closter, N. 3.. assignor to, Air Reduction Company, T Incorporated; New York, 5N. Y.. acornoratio'n of Newyo'rk iApllication"September 17, 1940, Serial No; 357,111

7 '6. "Claims.

-Ihis inventiomrelates to' machines for making welded tubes-fr6fn1flatkl" zt'nd mn'e especially to welding. machines" whieh'the shel is formed andwelded in-sucoessiver'ollpasses.

' One eatureo f the inventionrelatesto-an improved construotionof the roll-supportingframe for opening the roll passes simultaneously". for the admission of a pulling mo Guide rolls located .betweenforrningroll stands open with the form ingrolls. According t the terminology of this stantially 'the'Qsame region crosswise of thetube this invention are, 'supportedfroin the same welding machine frame.

Another object bf the invention isto provide a forming and..welding machine .f-or bending .and

Other features of the inventionrelateto the elliptical forming of vthe -tube .for .holding it from .being struck by the end ,or theskelp Jas the end enters the machine, .an'dtolroll opening Another'object of the. invention is to provide tube blank preparatory to welding, and it -is adtub'ezblank around-1alliorrmostrof 45 cipal forming rolls and that i-are .l'ocate'd between the principal rolls of isuce'essive r011 r stands extending intozthe recesses-tin the races" or: the rin- Other- *objects;a='featuresiand advantages 'dnignef Kiri Fig.- 1. i

. tomss?) invention will-appear or be pointed oufil'as'the specification proceeds.

m the accompanying drawings;rforriiing spart hereof Fig. 1 is-a side elevation of a tubewelding 'machine embodying the invention.

Fig. -2 is" a slightly enlarged irontv'iew, partly in section of the'machine shown in Fig. 1, but with skelp shown in the forming rollypassr'and with all of the rolls between"the' firsvand-last roll passes omitted in orderto'simpliiy the draW- ing and better illustrate the" welding roll. pass.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view takenon the line 3-4 of Fig. 1, but on the same scale as Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the lined-4 of Fig. 1.

.Fig. 5 is a topaplan view of the machine shown Figs. 36-8 are enlarged views ofthetorches and "are taken on the lines 6- 6to:8 8. respectively, "of Fig.-5.

A stationary frame Ill-has bearings ll' (Fig.2) for a shaft l2 that extends along-the entire length of'the machine. A tilting frame l4'has lugs l5 by which the frame I4 is's'upported from-the shaft l2. The rolls on one side of the machine are supported by the stationary frame I 0. and'the rolls on the other side by the tilting frame l4.

In the 'illustratedembodimentof the invention, the skelpl'l (Fig. 5) travels through a number 'of roll stands while being made from a fiat strip to "a'weldedtube- The 'first roll stand includes two forming rolls l8 and-l8 defining a' roll pass 'inwhich the flat skelp receives its initial bendmg. Beyond this forming pass-there are three sets of other forming or gathering rolls [9, I9"; :20, 20'; and-H. 21 (Fig. 5), which continue the "forming'of thetube blank preparatory to its entry into the pass between the welding ro11s 22, 22' (Fig. 3).

The roll l8'"of thefirstfor'rning pass is con- .nectedto a'shaft 0r'spindle114 (Fig. 2)-whicl1 turns in anti friction hearings in a housing Z5 that forms a partner thei' stationaiy 'framel'll. The'bth'e'r roll 13 of the fir-"st "pass is connected to "a similar shaft that turnsin hearings in "a housingkfl'that isholtdto and'forrns a part'of the'tilting frame I4.

"The gathering roll 1'9 is supportecihy a shaft in a c'asting'30 whichslides ona dovetail bearing 3| (Fig. 1) on the tilting fran'ie' M; The

frame with the same kind of bearings and adjusting means as the rolls I9, 20 and 2|.

The welding rolls 22 and-22' (Fig. 3) are supported on horizontal spindles or axles 36 and 31, respectively. The axle 36 turns in bearings in brackets 38, 39 that are connected to the tilting frame l4. The bracket 39 is movable in a dovetail bearing 43 (Fig. 1) on the frame l4 to. obtain a limited transverse adjustment of the' welding roll 22.

Nuts 4| on a stud 42 hold the bracket 39 in position, as shown in Fig. 3.

Thespindle or axle 31 of the upper welding roll 22' turns in bearings in a housing 43 that is connected to the stationary frame l by a pivot 44. The housing 43 can move about the pivot 44 into the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 3 but is held in the full-line position by a tapered pin 45 that extends through alined openings in the housing 43 and stationary frame Ill. The pin 45 is removed only in the case of a cobble which makes necessary the opening of the welding roll pass further than is required for the insertion of a pulling tool during the ordi- =nary operation of the machine.

When a new length of skelp I1 is to be pulled into the machine, the tilting frame I 4 istilted into the positions shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. This movement opens up all of the rollpasses and permits a pulling tool, that has one end connected to the skelp, to be laid in the groove of the lower welding roll 22 and between the rolls of the-forming roll passes.

The lower welding roll 22 has a bevel peripheral face 41 which provides the clearance necessary to enable the lower welding roll 22 to shift about the axis of the shaft |2 without movin the upper welding roll 22'.

The frame I4 is tilted to open the roll passes ,to receive a pulling tool, and is returned to upright position to close the passes, by links 50 connected to the tilting frame by pins and connected at their other ends to cranks 52 that are keyed to a shaft 53. The cranks 52 move over their dead-center position when the tilting frame is upright and thus lock the roll passes .holds the tip protector 61 in position.

The contour of the faces of the forming rolls 8 and I8 is such that they bend the skelp H to an elliptical arc, as shown in Fig. 2, with the major axis of the ellipse transverse. There is a wide space between the edges of the partiallyformed skelp as it travels through the first closed. The shaft 53 turns in bearings that are in the housing 43 and extends lengthwise of the machine over-the rolls |9'-2|'. Torch holders .53 (Fig. 5) on the bar 58 support torches 5! and 62 in positions to project heating jets, preferably oxyacetylene flame jets, directly against the edge faces of the forming tube blank as-it travels through the mac ine. Each of the torch holders has a screw 63 (Fig. 1) ,for adjusting the height of the torch 6| or 62 with respect to the tube blank. 1

.Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show the torches 6| and-62 with diverging jet passages 64 which are at smaller angles nearer the region of welding ;be-

forming roll pass; but the edge portions of the skelp are above the major axis of the ellipse. Therefore, the partially-formed skelp will not "rise in the roll passbecause doing so would cause the metal to be bent'more sharply.

The elliptical contour also serves to prevent the 'tube blank from turning as it travels through the forming and welding passes. This is important because the edge facesof the skelp will not remain-in the correct relation to the torches if the tube blank turns in the roll passes.

The subsequent forming roll passes defined by the'gathering rolls |3, |9', 20, 20, and 2|, 2|, each bend the partially-formed tube nearer to circular contour and bring the edge faces nearer together.

To assist in forming the tube and to maintain the edge faces straight between the rolls |8, |8' to 2|, 2|, guide rolls 1| (Fig. 5) are positioned just ahead of each of the rolls l9, l9 to 2|, 2|. The rolls 1| are of much smaller diameter, preferably about one-half of the diameter of the rolls l9, I9 to 2|, 2| so as to fit into the space between the latter. The term diameter, as here used, means maximum diameter. The faces of the rolls 1| are curved to, fit the contour of the tube blank,

and the peripheral portions of the rolls 1| extend into the recesses in the faces of the gathering 'rolls.

The roll 1| just ahead of the gathering roll I9 is carried by a bracket 13 which is fastened to the casting 30 by screws 14. These screws 14 extend throughshort slots in the bracket to allow for some adjustment ofthe bracket 13 with respect to the casting 3|). The bracket 13 is preferably adjusted so that the roll 1! and the corresponding roll on the other side of the tube blank define a pass slightly larger than the pass between the rolls 9 and I9.

All of the other rolls 1| are similarly connected to the castings that support the rolls of the next roll passes and are similarly set to define progressively narrower passes. The same movement of the supporting castings that adjusts the positions of the larger rolls also adjusts the spacing of the rolls 1|.

From the pass defined by the gathering rolls |9, |9' until the seam approaches the welding roll pass, the edge faces are heated by the flame jets projected directly against the edge faces. The skelp is pulled through the forming and welding machine by a drawbench16 at aspeed so coordinated with the heating effectiveness of the torches that the edge faces of the tube blank are raised to a welding temperature by the time they are brought together by-the welding-rolls.

The number of roll stands can be changed, and other changes and modifications, can be made in the illustrated embodiment of the invention and some features can be used without others.

I claim: y

1. In a tube welding machine, a torch holder that positions a torch along the course of travel of the edges of a tube blank for raising the edges to a welding temperature progressively along their length, roll stands through which the tube blank passes, including welding rolls, and forming rolls ahead of the welding rolls, means on which the rolls are rotatably supported including a common frame that carries the supportin means of one of the welding rolls and the supportingmeans for the forming rolls on one side of a tube blank, and means for tilting said frame .to open all of the roll passes simultaneously for insertion of a pullin tool. a

2. A tube welding machine including a set of forming rolls, three sets of gathering rolls, torches located inposition to project heating flames directly against the edge faces of a tube blank as it travels through the passes between thegath- 5. In a tube welding machine, a torch holder that positions a torch alone the course of travel of the edges of a tube blank for raising the edges to a welding temperature progressively along their length, roll stands through which the tube blank passes, Welding rolls, and a plurality of ering ro1ls,a set of welding rolls beyond the last gathering roll pass and at the end of said torches, spindles for the respective rolls, the spindles of the forming and gathering rolls being substantially vertical and those of the welding rolls horizontal, a fixed frame supporting the verticalspindles on one side of the machine and the upper horizontal spindle, a tilting frame supporting the vertical spindles on the other side of the machine and the lower horizontal spindle, and a shaft extending lengthwise of' the machine and supporting the tilting frame and about which the tilting frame is movable to shift the spindles transverse- 1y of the machine to open the passes between all of the sets of rolls.

3. A tube welding machine through which successive lengths of skelp are pulled by a tool, said machine including successive roll stands for forming a tube blank, means for holding atorch in position to project heating jets against the tube blank along its edges as the blank is formed and the seam edges move progressively closer, and a guard that has a rearward end at least as wide as the forward end of the torch and that is positioned directly in front of the torch, said guard having a pointed forward end extending away from the position occupied by the torch for gathering roll stands ahead of the welding rolls, each of said roll stands including two gathering rolls, an independent slide on which each of the gathering rolls is supported, separate adjusting means for shifting each of said slides toward or fromthe other slide to'regulate the width of the pass defined by the gathering rolls, a bracket rigidly attached to each of the slides, and a guide roll carried by each bracket in such position that the guide rolls contact with the outside surface of the tube blank and define a pass of slightly different widthfrom the gathering roll pass to as sist in the forming of the tube.

6. In a machine for making welded tubing from heavy, stiff, fiat skelp, a first forming stand com-v prising rolls defining an open top pass of non-circular contour with its maximum dimension transverse and its line of contact with the skelp below said maximum dimension substantially less than the total width of the skelp with which the machine is intended to be used, a guard between the rolls of said first forming stand, the guard having a pointed end extending in the direction from which the skelp approaches said forming stand for deflecting skelp that enters the machine. crooked and unsymmetrical with'respect to the maximum dimension of the pass through said first forming stand, and subsequent stands includin rolls thatbend the skelp further and eventually to circular contour.

JAMES L. ANDERSON. 

